In March 2022, the Authorities launched the White Paper on Singapore’s Girls’s Improvement that contained proposals for 25 motion plans, certainly one of which is to reinforce assist for single mother and father.
Nevertheless, the assist that single mother and father are entitled to is determined by the class they fall underneath – particularly, if they’re unwed, widowed or divorced. For instance, the Child Bonus Scheme that helps defray child-raising prices features a money reward, Baby Improvement Account (CDA) First Step grant, and authorities matching to financial savings within the youngster’s CDA, however single unwed mother and father are usually not eligible for the money reward. So the query is: Will the incoming extra assist be equal no matter one’s marital historical past?
There are just a few different areas that single unwed mother and father do not need equal entitlements to. We check out what they’re by way of housing, employment alternatives and childcare assist, and why there’s a distinction between single mother and father.
Fewer housing schemes
First issues first: The Authorities has offered much more assist to single mother and father no matter their marital historical past in recent times in comparison with a decade in the past. For one, these above the age of 21 can now apply to purchase a resale flat or a BTO flat in non-mature estates with as much as three rooms.
However whereas divorced or widowed single mother and father ready for his or her BTO flats can get interim housing underneath the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS), which permits them to pay a subsidised rental charge for a two-, three- or four-room flat, single unwed mother and father are usually not eligible for the scheme. Ought to they want a spot to remain, they’ll solely hire a flat underneath the Public Rental Scheme, which additionally subsidises rental charges, however solely gives one- or two-room flats.
And whereas divorced or widowed mother and father can faucet on a complete of three grants for resale flats if eligible – the Enhanced Housing Grant, Proximity Housing Grant and Household Grant – an eligible unwed mother or father qualifies for a similar grant quantity as a single particular person. This implies they solely obtain half the grant quantity in comparison with divorced and widowed mother and father.
There are additionally different points that they must cope with, explains Elizabeth Quek, mission supervisor of Advocacy, Analysis and Communications at Conscious. “Unwed single mother and father additionally typically face challenges similar to lengthy ready instances for housing and the necessity to enchantment rejections, which causes them stress and anxiousness. Plus, lots of them expertise abuse or battle inside their households. Some additionally must put
up with crowded areas with no conducive setting for themselves and their youngsters, or have to maneuver continuously.”
Charlotte Beck, senior director at Household Improvement Group, Ministry of Social and Household Improvement (MSF), explains that the Authorities has set in place Social Service Workplaces (SSOs) to work straight with susceptible people and to grasp their wants. “Monetary and social help are prolonged to all
households in want, together with single unwed mother and father.”
She provides that other than serving to them with primary residing bills, in addition to help with family and medical payments, the SSOs may also “refer the household to different companies for additional assist”. This consists of
referrals to HDB, who will help them with their housing wants, based on their circumstances.
“Those that can not afford to purchase a flat and haven’t any different housing choices could also be thought of for public rental flats, whether it is of their youngster’s greatest pursuits. Inputs from social employees are taken into consideration, the place related.”
That mentioned, a rising variety of MPs have been calling for higher assist for single mother and father.
“What I’ve been pushing for is for single mother and father to get their housing earlier. I’ve additionally been suggesting that single mothers-to-be within the third trimester of their being pregnant be allotted housing, in order that they’ve a spot to remain when the kid is born,” says Mr Louis Ng, MP for Nee Quickly Group Illustration Constituency.
Mr Ng has been actively campaigning for extra assist for single unwed mother and father for the previous couple of years and, earlier than the pandemic, hosted a celebration for them in order that they might get collectively and lend one another assist. He provides that along with equalling housing insurance policies, it’s also essential that cautious language is used when lending assist.
“I can’t keep in mind the precise phrases used, however a girl I used to be serving to was informed one thing alongside the strains of how she was solely allowed to get a rental flat as a result of it was a ‘particular circumstance’ or on an ‘distinctive foundation’. Why make somebody really feel so unhealthy? Can’t single unwed mother and father be like the remainder of us? The language for these purposes must be standardised in order that they’ll really feel like the remainder of us,” he shares.
Fewer advantages
For a lot of single mother or father households, being the only real breadwinner could imply larger monetary struggles. It doesn’t assist that a number of the part-time jobs they tackle that supply the pliability they should juggle their caregiving obligations could not supply excessive remuneration. In actual fact, based on Mr Ng, the median month-to-month earnings for single unwed mother and father underneath 35 years previous is $600 to $700.
“They’re one of many lowest earnings teams in Singapore. Because of this they need to be given the money reward from the Child Bonus Scheme. For some mother and father, the reward is a luxurious, however for them, it’s actually a lifeline.”
In addition they are inclined to have few employment alternatives.
“Childcare and toddler care providers are topic to vacancies, and loads of the time, a scarcity of areas at these centres both causes them to delay their plans to hunt employment or impacts their capability to keep up secure employment. The kind of jobs they’ll take up are sometimes restricted by the childcare centres’ working hours, and shift work, as an illustration, shouldn’t be appropriate with the standard hours,” says Elizabeth.
On high of juggling childcare obligations alone, single unwed mother and father solely get half the childcare depart that married mother and father do. “As an alternative of 12 days, they get six days, and the six days are robotically used up as a result of childcare centres are allowed to shut for six days a 12 months,” explains Mr Ng. Earlier this 12 months, he proposed the institution of a pilot programme offering low-cost advert hoc nanny providers for these mother and father.
Single unwed mother and father are additionally not entitled to the Parenthood Tax Rebate and Working Mom’s Baby Aid. At current, married, divorced or widowed mother and father could declare tax rebates of as much as $20,000 a baby, and the Working Mom’s Baby Aid is given to encourage married girls to stay within the workforce after having youngsters. The tax reduction bundle can go as much as 20 per cent for a second youngster.
Regardless, Charlotte of MSF reiterates that finally, “the Authorities helps the care, progress and improvement of each Singaporean youngster, as a result of we would like each Singaporean youngster to have an excellent begin in life, to have the alternatives to pursue their goals and potential”.
For instance, all youngsters are eligible for “over $180,000 of training subsidies. This consists of about $50,000 in Authorities funding over 5 years, if the kid enrols in a full-day childcare programme with one of many Anchor Operators”.
Furthermore, she provides that Singaporean youngsters additionally profit from “healthcare subsidies, Medisave Grant for Newborns, Medishield Life protection from beginning, and the Baby Improvement Account (CDA), which incorporates the CDA First Step and matched co-savings from the Authorities. These are broad-based helps which can be equally prolonged to all Singaporean youngsters, no matter their mother and father’ marital standing”.
Professional-family insurance policies
So why is there a distinction in single mother and father and the kind of advantages they’re entitled to?
Charlotte explains that the Authorities’s stance rests on the next ideas: “We are going to retain pro-family incentives to advertise marriage and parenthood inside marriage according to societal values. Second, we’ll proceed to strengthen social assist for all households in want, together with unwed mother and father and their youngsters, to assist them overcome their challenges.”
Ivan Cheong, a Household Regulation specialist and a associate at Withers KhattarWong LLP, believes that the present insurance policies align with the Authorities’s pro-family insurance policies. He provides: “The place youngsters are conceived throughout a
lawful marriage, however the mother and father subsequently get divorced [or are widowed], it’s nonetheless recognised that the mother or father who has authorized custody, care and management over the kids kinds a household nucleus. As such, divorced [or widowed] single mother and father are eligible for extra schemes.”
Elizabeth provides that whereas some have argued that excluding single mother and father from sure insurance policies and advantages could deter single parenthood in Singapore, there may be “inadequate proof that such strategies are literally efficient”.
Equally, throughout a debate in Parliament in February 2020, Mr Ng pointed to contradictions within the Authorities’s coverage in the direction of single unwed mother and father throughout the debate.“Now we have the Ministry of Nationwide Improvement saying that each mom and each father is equal, it doesn’t actually matter whether or not the kid is born out of marriage,” he mentioned.
“However right here, we’re now saying that they’re not equal, that as a result of the kid was born exterior of marriage, they might not qualify for the Parenthood Tax Rebate and the Working Mom’s Baby Aid.”
So how can we as a society lend single unwed mother and father extra assist? By advocating for equal advantages for them, and never letting our judgement have an effect on the kids concerned.
“As soon as these insurance policies are equalised, we’d be levelling the enjoying subject for them. We’re not asking for them to be given extra, simply that they not be given much less,” says Mr Ng.
“Some folks really feel that these mother and father did one thing unsuitable by having youngsters out of wedlock and may pay the value. We will argue about whether or not or not the mother and father did one thing unsuitable, however we should keep in mind the kids did nothing unsuitable and shouldn’t undergo for it. Denying them housing assist and different advantages have an effect. Research have proven that when you give them assist equal to what different youngsters get, they’ve an equal likelihood in society.”
Charlotte additionally mentions that strides have been made on this space – in November 2021, a spotlight group was
held underneath the Alliance for Motion to Strengthen Marriages and Household Relationships (AFAM)’s devoted
Focal Space (FA4) on “Help for Single Dad and mom”. By means of this, she says, “the FA4 was capable of perceive their considerations, each from the sensible and socio-emotional lenses. The FA4 can be working with group companions on ground-up initiatives to assist single mother and father, particularly within the areas of employment, caregiving, and progress and improvement of their youngsters”.
Supply: Her World
